Water buoyed engine and mounting for motor boats and the like



ww u II "III Dec. 21, 1937. H. M. ROCKWELL WATER B UOYED ENGINE ANDMOUNTING FOR MOTOR BOATS AND LIKE Filed June 16, 1934 Patented Dec. 21,1937 WATER BUOYED ENGINE AND MOUNTING FOR oron BOATS, AND, THE LIKE HughM.- Rc kwell, Freeport; N; Y.

Application June, 16, 1934, SeriaLNo. 730,953

12 Claims.

My-invention relates to motor; boats; launches and other'motor propelledmarine craft, and more particularly towater buoyed motors and mountingsfor motor boat engines'and the like.

It is one of the objects of my invention to flexibly and/or resilientlymount the motor or engine in the craft so that the weight of themotor'or engine, as far as possible or practical, is supported by thewater.

Another object, of the invention is to so support the motor or enginethat it is flexibly. supported in such a way that whether the engine isover or under the weight of the water displaced by the engine, it isheld in a position suitable for. proper operation, and in this manner asimple self-contained power andpropulsion unit is provided, inexpensiveto install and of a type that lessens noise and eliminates vibrationbeing transmitted tothe boat.

Still further objects ofthe invention are to cool the oil in the bottomof the engine casing, thereby eliminating the usual oil cooler,eliminating the usual and customary journal or bearing in the hullof-the boat, and in some cases the necessary coupling between the engineand the propeller shaft.

Other objects will be'apparent, particularly to those skilled in theart, upon further perusal of the specification.

My invention broadly" contemplates fioatably supporting the motor orengine which may be accomplished by. providing in the bottom of the hullof the boat a suitable openingin which-the motor is flexibly and/orresilientlysupported: and providinga water-tight joint between themotor-and the hull.

The motor may drop down below the bottom of the boat, and the waterdisplaced by the motor will assist'insupporting the same. Instead ofhaving the motor in direct contact with the water, I may support a panor adapter in the opening and-have the motor rest in the pan. In thisform there will be a suitable bearing and stufling box in the pan forsupporting the motor shaft. In the first form, the stuifing box may beinthe end, of the crank case.

In eachuformrof. my. invention it may notv be possible to keep anabsolute balance so that the engine accurately displaces its weight inwater, but the nearer this point is approached, the less weightone Wayor the other will have to be carried by the engine mounting. In anyevent, much 'of'the weight of the engine-is supported directly bythe-water and it is possible'thatthere may be conditions where there isagreater -iorceexerted upwardly onthe engine engine. 7 v I 7 Myinvention will be, better understood: by reference to the accompanyingdrawing in. which: Figural is a side elevation of a motorboat and: thelike showingmy waterxbuoyed engine and 1 mounting; withparts; in dottedlines.

Figure 2 isv an endelevation of the same. Figure 3 is asectionalzdetailview showingzthe, flexible-mounting, for the motor. I w

Figures i -and 5 are. detailviews, of the flexible mounting. Figures6,7: and 8 are views showing some-of the various shapes; the flexiblemountingmay assume, as; desired, and r Figure 9 isa fragmentary viewpartly insection of a modified formof my invention,v

than thew ightorthe Upon referring to the drawing, A designatesgenerally-a motor-boat or other, power propelled craft av the u11 l prodedw h a: o tom 2. Inthe bottom 2 of the hull may be provided a suitableopening 3 of any suitable contouniin which is located the engine 4am],extending be lowthezhull bottom, The-opening 3vinthe bottom of, the hullispreferab-ly located aft, although it may be located forwardas inracing craft, or at any point desired. The engine-lhas thecrank case 5through'which extends a motort orpropeller shaft 6 having a suitablepropeller I thereon, The crank case may be-prov-idedwith anextendedflange 8 havinga rabbet 8 along its lower outer edge For resilientlysupporting the, motor-from the hull I employ flexible and/orresilientsupporting. means 9. V This flexible supporting means may be,made of vulcanized rubber and may be in the form of strips and thelikeif. desired. It may also be made in one continuous pie ce, ifconvenient. This resilient supporting means may -be made of the samethickness as the depthof the rabbet 8' in the flange of the crank case,and is secured thereto in any suitable manner. I prefer to secure-theresilient supporting means tothe flange of the crankcase by means ofboltsv Ill, The resilient, supporting means may have secured in itslower face the non-corrodible metal strips which are located in groovesl2 in the bottom, face of the resilient supporting means. Thesemetalstrips may be left free in the groove, or they may be vulcanized andbonded in place, As shown in Fi u es 4 and .,1 hese strinsoo fl on: rdible metal y e ntirely mbedded in the resilient supporting means.

The outer end of the resilient supporting means maybe secured to thebottom or the; by means of'bolts' l3'passing through bed'members l4.These bed members are rabbeted as at l5 to receive the outer ends of theresilient supporting means when the resilient supporting means is ofgreater thickness than the bottom of the hull. When the bolts arescrewed home, a water-tight joint is provided between the resilientsupporting means and the engine motor flange, and also between theresilient supporting means and the hull of the boat.

The engine or motor rests on the water and is resiliently suspended orattached to the bottom of the boat. The resilient supporting means maybe formed in strips, as many as desired, and as shown in Figures 6, '7,and 8 may be of various shapes to conform to the preferred opening inthe hull of the boat. While I have illustrated a rectangular,trapezoidal, and an oval shaped opening, yet openings of other shapes orcontours may be employed if preferred.

The portion of the crank case in the water may be provided with anintake pipe 50 which will conduct cooling water through thecrank case tothe water jacket of the engine. A similar pipe 5| may be employed toconduct the water from the water jacket. By making these conduits orpassages in the crank case, flexible connections may be eliminated. Itmay be preferable in a large number of instances to have the incomingcooling water come through the casing as by means of the pipe 50 orother suitable means, and have the outgoing water lead into the engineexhaust pipe which in turn will pass through an opening in the hull ofthe boat. With an arrangement of this kind, the outlet for the exhaustwater and engine gases would require a flexible connection to permit ofthe sliding relative movement between the hull and the engine, but itwould not be necessary to have a flexible connection for the incomingwater, as

. this inlet is located through the crank case by means of the pipe 50.If desired, I may have the inlet for the cooling water, and the outletfor the cooling water, and the exhaust pipe all pass through the crankcase so as to eliminate all flexible connections, and have a moreselfcontained engine unit.

As a modified form, as shown in Figure 9, I may employ a pan or adapterB, which adapter is supported in the opening in the hull by the resilient supporting means, and the engine or motor 4 is mounted in thepan B or adapter. A suitable stuffing box I6 and bearing is provided inthe pan.

When the engine or motor 4, with or without the pan or adapter B, isproperly mounted in the opening 3 in the hull of the boat, the openingis completely closed and no water can leak through into the hull. Theengine is relatively low in the boat and if desired can be covered up inany suitable manner to provide additional space. Further, by having theengine: so mounted, a low center of gravity is obtained. The verticalcenter of gravity of the engine may be off the center of the opening inthe boat in order to partly made downwardly from the engine casing orboat in order to protect the propeller in shallow water.

In the embodiment of my invention shown herein, I have only illustratedand referred to a single engine, but it is possible that one or morecould be'used as desirable or practicable. Further, the engine may besurrounded by water-tight compartments or bulkheads and the like so thatleaks of any naturein other parts of the boat will not reach the enginecompartment, or leaks of any nature in the engine compartment will notget to the other parts of the boat.

Other minor changes in my invention will be apparent to those skilled inthe art.

What I claim is:

. 1. A motor boat provided with an opening in its bottom, a completepower plant including a propeller and a shaft mounted as a unit inthebottom of a boat hull, the area of the opening in the boat hull being soproportioned that the upward pressure of the water on said area isapproximately equal to the weight of said com; plete power plant, and aflexible and resilient water tight mounting joining the power plantdirectly to the boat, and permitting relative universal movement betweenthe power plant and the boat bottom.

2. A motor boat and the like having a hull provided with an opening inits bottom, a power plant disposed within the opening, a flexible andresilient mounting substantially surrounding the power plant andconstituting the sole means of support for the power plant from theboat, said power plant being suspended from the boat by the mounting,the area of the opening in the boat hull being so proportioned that theupward pressure of the water on said area is approximately equal to theweight of the power plant, and water tight connections between themounting and the powerplant and between the mounting and the hull.

3. In a motor boat having an opening in its bottom and a propulsion unitmounted in said opening, and a flexible and resilient supporting meansfor the unit substantially surrounding the unit and connected to saidunit and the boat in a water-tight manner, said propulsion unit beingsuspended from the boat by the supporting means, the area of the openingin the boat hull being so proportioned that the upward pressure of thewater on said area is approximately equal to the weight of thepropulsion unit.

4. A complete engine propelling unit including a propeller and shaft, aflexible mounting surrounding the engine and extending through anopening in the bottom of the hull of the boat and suspending the engine,and having universal movement relative to the boat, the area of theopening in the boat hull being so proportioned that the upward pressureof the water on said area is approximately equal to the weight of thepropelling unit.

5. A boat with an opening in the bottom of its hull, an engine flexiblymounted in said opening and a water tight, slightly yieldable enginemounting connecting the engine to the boat bottom and so arranged thatthe engine is positioned against side loads and end loads by themounting, the area of the opening in the hull being so proportioned thatthe upward pressure of the water on said area is approximately equal tothe weight of the engine.

6. A motor boat provided with an opening in its bottom, a pan means soflexibly supported in the opening as to have universal movement relativeto the boat bottom, an engine supported by the pan and water tightconnections between the pan and the boat, the area of the opening in theboat bottom being so proportioned that the up- I ward weight of thewater on said area is approximately equal to the weight of the pan andthe engine supported thereby.

'7. A motor boat having an opening in the bottom of its hull and a motorsuspended in the opening, means secured to said motor and hull sealingsaid opening and floatably and flexibly mounting said motor therein sothat the motor will have universal movement relative to the hull, thearea of the opening in the boat hull being so proportioned that theupward pressure of the water on said area is approximately equal to theweight of the motor.

8. A motor boat and the like having a hull provided with an opening inits bottom, a power plant disposed in the opening and projecting belowthe bottom, a flexible and resilient mounting substantially surroundingthe power plant and constituting the sole means of-support for the powerplant from the boat, the area of the opening in the boat hull being soproportioned that the upward pressure of the water on said area isapproximately equal to the weight of the power plant, and water tightconnections between the power plant and the mounting and between themounting and the hull.

9. A motor boat and the like having a hull provided with an opening inits bottom, a power plant disposed within the opening and projectingbelow the boat bottom, a resilient mounting substantially surroundingthe power plant and forming a water tight connection between the powerplant and the boat, whereby the power plant is floatably supported, thearea of the opening in the boat hull being so proportioned that theupward pressure of the water on said area is approximately equal to theweight of the power plant. 7

10. A motor boat having an opening in the bottim of its hull and a motorsuspended in the opening, means secured to said motor and hull sealingsaid opening and floatably and flexibly mounting said motor therein sothat the motor will have universal movement relative to the hull, thearea of the openingin the boat hull being so proportioned that theupward pressure of the water on said area takes up a substantial portionof the weight of the motor.

11. A motor boat and the like having a hull provided with an opening inits bottom, a power plant disposed in the opening and projecting belowthe bottom, and a flexible and resilient mounting completely surroundingthe power plant, with the mounting securely fastened to the power plantand the boat hull and making a permanent, water-tight connection, withthe mounting completely submerged in the water at all times.

12. A motor boat and the like having a hull provided with an opening inits bottom, a power plant disposed in the opening and projecting belowthe bottom, and a flexible and resilient mounting completely surroundingthe power plant and suspending the power plant from the boat hull, withthe center of gravity of the power plant being within the confines ofthe mounting and the carrying load taken at approximate right angles tothe mounting enclosure, the mounting being at all times in contact withthe water and providing a water-tight seal. 7

HUGH M. ROCKWELL.

